Draft report “Access to Justice” presented
The EU funded project “Protection and Promotion of Property Rights of Internally Displaced People, Refugees and Returnees Upon Readmission Agreements”, whose beneficiary is the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, organized on Monday, February 19, 2018 a presentation of a thematic report “Access to Justice” and a panel discussion on possibilities of IDPs to use judiciary mechanisms in KiM in order to protect their basic human rights.
Nemanja Ilić, expert for social matters, presented the Report that addresses essential problems related to the access to justice right in Kosovo and Metohija, in the form of „presenting cases before courts“ as well as in all other forms regarding the access to justice.
Assistant Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Zoran Bojović opened the panel discussion welcoming the guests and stating that the access to justice is a basic human right and it should be available to everyone. Bojović also presented results the project has achieved so far providing free legal aid to vulnerable group.
Igor Popović, Head of Group for judiciary, human rights and property and legal issues of the Office fro KiM addressed the guests presenting the judiciary mechanisms available to Non-Albanian citizen in KiM and explaining how they were not efficient in many exampls in the past.
The project’s Legal Advisers Zarko Gajic, Vlastimir Petrovic and Zoran Popovic presented their experiences in working with court and quasi court institutions in KiM and the day to day obstacles they encountered representing IDPs before these institutions.
Conclusion of the panel discussion was that new tendencies in the European Court for Human Right practice are appearing that shine a new light on lawsuits for damage compensation filed with the European Court for Human Rights by people whose human rights were violated in KiM.
The importance of the fifthe thematic report and the panel discussion organized within the Free legal aid project is shown in the fact that the access to justic qualifies as a fundamental huma right and the Europrean Union pays a special attention to it. Apart from representatives of Office for KiM and the project, representatives of OSCE Mission in KiM, UNMIK, Commisariette for Refugees and Migration and IRL association “Sveti Spas” attened the event.